Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump on Tuesday said he decided against bringing up former President Clinton’s “many affairs” at Monday’s debate, saying he didn’t want to do it with Chelsea Clinton in the audience.
“When she hit me at the end with the women, I was going to hit her with her husband’s women, and I decided I shouldn’t do it because [her] daughter was in the room,” Mr. Trump said on “Fox and Friends,” referring to Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, her husband, and their daughter, Chelsea Clinton.
“I didn’t feel comfortable doing it. I think I did the right thing. It’s not worth a point,” he said. “I didn’t feel comfortable doing it with Chelsea in the room. I think Chelsea’s a fine young lady. I didn’t like doing it with Chelsea in the room.”
Mr. Trump had said during the debate he was going to say something “extremely rough” but decided against it.
“I was talking about the affairs — the many affairs that Bill Clinton had,” he said Tuesday. “And because his daughter was in the room, Chelsea … I just didn’t want to do it in front of her.”
Mr. Trump had held back after Mrs. Clinton had criticized some of the comments he’s made toward women, including toward former Miss Universe contestant Alicia Machado.
“I know that person. That person was a Miss Universe person, and she was the worst we ever had,” Mr. Trump said Tuesday. “The worst — the absolute worst. She was impossible.”
“And she was a Miss Universe contestant, and ultimately a winner who they had a tremendously difficult time with as Miss Universe,” he said.
“She was the winner, and she gained a massive amount of weight, and it was a real problem,” he said. “We had a real problem. Not only that — her attitude — and we had a real problem with her.”
“So Hillary went back into the years and she found this girl — this was many years ago — and found the girl and talked about her like she was Mother Teresa,” he said. “And it wasn’t quite that way, but that’s OK. Hillary has to do what she has to do.”
Mr. Trump had also mused on social media about bringing Gennifer Flowers, a woman who had an affair with the former president, to the debate, though Ms. Flowers ultimately did not attend.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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